MPH/MS Global Health Scholarship
The SPH Global Health Scholarship defrays expenses associated with the MPH/MS Applied Practice Experience or field research in global public health. These scholarships are competitive, and open to all domestic and international students enrolled in the Certificate for Global Public Health Program.
Please note the following important information:
- Students who are awarded other funds from the global health program (for example, Passaro Global Horizons Scholarship, Farley Scholarship, Slotten Scholarship, or are participants in the Kenya or Mexico program) are not eligible to apply.
The Global Health Scholarship Application period for the 2024-2025 is now closed. Please check back in fall 2025 for information on the 2025-2026 applications.
Scholarship Contact
Keith Partyka
Phone:
Email:
Eligibility, Selection Criteria and Application Information
Eligibility Requirements
The applicant must:
- Be a MPH or MS student formally enrolled in the Global Health Program.
- Have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better (4.0 scale).
- Use the funds to meet a MPH Applied Practice Experience or MS thesis requirement.
- Undertake a global public health project outside the U.S or domestically/in Chicago with an ethnic population that retains strong community ties to another country and/or its culture.
The selected candidate must:
- Complete the proposed Applied Practice Experience within 12 months of receiving the award.
- Be enrolled for 0-5 MPH Applied Practice Experience or MS thesis hours.
- Purchase emergency evacuation insurance if traveling abroad.
- Provide a post-experience report within two weeks of return.
- Attend the SPH Annual Research and Awards Day in spring 2022.
- Prepare and present a poster on the Applied Practice Experience at the annual SPH Global Health Poster Competition at Research and Awards Week.
About the Selection Criteria
The selection committee will consider those applications that appear the most educational, realistic, and likely to advance the student’s understanding of global public health though practice and/or research. To this end, selection will be based on:
For MPH students:
- A well-conceptualized Applied Practice Experience that is organized around a clearly stated overall learning goal that reflects the application of basic public health concepts and specialty knowledge to address a specific public health issue.
- The appropriateness of proposed learning objectives and related activities to be met through the Applied Practice Experience.
For MS students:
- How well the proposed research experience is likely to advance the student’s knowledge and/or skills in conducting global health research.
- The extent to which the proposed research activities will help to facilitate or advance the student’s thesis research.
For Both MPH and MS students:
- The extent to which the proposed Applied Practice Experience is likely to advance the student’s knowledge of key aspects of global public health.
- The extent to which the student’s background preparation affords the ability to effectively carry out the proposed project or research.
- A strong letter of support for both the applicant and the Applied Practice Experience from a proposed on-site preceptor or research supervisor.
- The ability of the host organization to offer an appropriate and supportive environment for conducting the proposed research or Applied Practice Experience.
- Signed approval by the applicant’s academic or thesis advisor for the proposed Applied Practice or research experience.
How to Apply for the Scholarship
Applicants must complete the SPH Global Health Scholarships application form.
The applicant’s personal statement should discuss:
For MPH applicants:
- A description of the overall learning goal to be met through the Applied Practice Experience.
- The proposed learning objectives and related activities for meeting the overall goal.
- A description of how the proposed Applied Practice Experience is likely to advance the student’s knowledge of global health practice.
For MS applicants:
- A statement indicating how the proposed research activities supported by the scholarship will help to advance the student’s proposed thesis research.
- A description of how the proposed research experience is likely to advance the student’s knowledge or skills in conducting global health research.
For both MPH and MS applicants:
- A description of the background preparation maintained in order to effectively carry out the proposed project.
- A description of available on-site Applied Practice Experience supervision or research mentorship.
- A feasible plan and timeline in undertaking and completing the Applied Practice Experience.
Previous Scholarship Recipients
About the recipients
Name: Natalie Sheneman
Project Location: Remote (Global Alliance for Surgical, Obstetric, Trauma and Anaesthesia Care)
Project: Natalie is an MPH student in the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics enrolled in the Global Health Program. Natalie will be conducting her applied practice experience with the Global Alliance for Surgical, Obstetric, Trauma and Anaesthesia Care (G4 Alliance) writing status reports and creating an informational video on the perioperative database project of the G4 Alliance Perioperative Case Log Database Working Group.
About the Receipient
Name: Rucha Patel
Project Location: Chicago, Local Global (Illinois Coalition for Immigrants and Refugee Rights)
Project: Rucha is a first year dual degree MPH and MSW student in Community Health Sciences with a Global Health Program who will be completing her Applied Practice Experience with Illinois Coalition for Immigrants and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) in Chicago as a local global experience. Rucha will be working with the ICIRR’s COVID-19 vaccine campaign, research barriers for immigrants’ accessibility of the healthcare system.
About the Recipient
Name: Meghna Nagam
Location: El Paz and El Alto, Bolivia
Project: Meghna is a first year MPH student in Community Health Sciences with a Global Health Program who will be completing her Applied Practice Experience with Child Family Health International in Bolivia. Meghna will be working with the Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine Program by developing a community based intervention to address the increasing rate of adolescent pregnancy and the physical, mental and sexual health concerns that accompany it, in El Paz and El Alto. She will also assist with a sexual education program in the primary health care centers located in these regions.
About the Recipient
Name: Erin Steele
Location: Ritsona, Greece
Project: Erin is a first year MPH in Community Health Sciences student with a Global Health Program who will be working with Lighthouse Relief to offer mental health and psychosocial support programs for children living in a refugee camp in Ritsona, Greece. This internship will include working for Lighthouse Relief’s Child Friendly Space operation in which Erin will conduct needs assessments of refugee children in the camp and determine standard operating procedures for mental health referrals.
About the Recipient
Name: Jessica Wilson
Location: Masaka, Uganda
Project: Jessica worked with maternal populations through two Women’s Health programs in Masaka Uganda: “The Piglet Program” and “The Joy of a Healthy Pregnancy and Safe Birth.” These two projects are a joint collaboration between three organizations: Microfinancing Partners in Africa in St. Louis, MO; Caritas Masaka Diocese Development Organization (MADDO) in Masaka, Uganda; and Kitovu Hospital in Masaka, Uganda.
About the Recipient
Name: Ellen Kerns
Location: Jaipur
Project: Ellen Kerns is a MPH in Epidemiology student. She is traveling to Jaipur, India this summer to conduct a community survey assessing the health behaviors of patients served by the local health clinic.
About the Recipient
Name: Bruce Larkin
Location: Gabon
Project: Bruce partnered with a local NGO, VIH/SIDA et Espoir, to develop and implement a survey study on HIV stigma and HIV testing in Gabon. In addition to Bruce also took French classes and volunteered with OSPAC (L’oevre de Sante Primaire de L’Alliance Chretienne), a locally-run mobile clinic which provides health education and clinical care to remote villages.
About the Recipient
Name: Zachary Pope
Location: La Romana, Dominican Repubic
Project: “A Cross-Sectional Study of Men who have Sex with Men and STIs in La Romana, Dominican Republic”. There is minimal data on MSM in the Dominican Republic as a whole, and no data on them in La Romana. Yet according to Grupo Este Amor, there is a booming MSM community in the province. Zachary’s research will seek to gain insight into the prevalence of HIV in the MSM community in La Romana, with an emphasis on associated demographics, behaviors, and perceptions. It is hoped that with the appropriate data, a group like Este Amor could tailor their HIV prevention model to better serve their clients.
About the Recipient
Name: Elizabeth Cohen
Location: Delmas, Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Project: Elizabeth took part in a collaborative project between UIC and the Delmas Medical Clinic. One component of the project was the delivery of medical care; the other was a disaster preparedness community assessment. Elizabeth helped develop survey tools and administered many of more than 150 resident surveys and participated in key stakeholder interviews.
About the Recipient
Name: Leslie Carnahan
Location: Millennium Villages, Ghana
Project: Leslie worked on a Millennium Villages project in Ghana to address postpartum hemorrhage of women after childbirth. Throughout the project, she collaborated with various NGOs and governmental organizations and engaged with local community members.